RARE BEATLES AIN'T SHE SWEET 1964 ATCO ORIG MONO 33-169

$

36

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PLEASE WAIT UNTIL 7 DAYS PRIOR TO AUCTION END TO BID, SO THAT I MAY EDIT THE LISTINGS IN AN EASY TO READ MANNER, BUT FEEL FREE TO WATCH THIS OR ASK QUESTIONS!

The awesomeness of a Beatles themed Rock Band video game got me motivated to throw a few crazy Beatles albums out around it's release, some of the less common items in the collection I still have. 

This is an auction for a copy of "Ain't She Sweet" & other great group sounds from England, released on ATCO in 1964.  It contains both Beatles and Swallows tracks and I believe this to be the original pressing, with the tan(ish)/blue(ish) label, release number 33-169 which was of course a MONO.  This is different from the later ATCO tan/purple label pressing, which was SD 33-169, and nowhere on the cover or label is "SD".  This copy also has a number on it stuck to the upper corner from a numbering gun, #679, with the same on side 1 of the label shown in the pic.  As I do not have sufficient evidence that this number was legit and not some counterfeiting tool with a sticky gun being a jerk, I did not choose to advertise it with the low number in the title of this listing.  I can only swear I did not do it nor do I know who did.  There is no original sleeve, only generic white. 

Album cover grade: VG to VG+. 
The cover is VG at worst for this album, and while I would not quite confidently call it VG+, VG seems a bit of an underestimation to me here.  The seams are all pretty nice and the spine is in GREAT condition.  There is a bit of light corner wear on all corners, and then there is the number thing.  As I cannot confirm that this was actually # 679, there is a that number stuck to the album label, and to the upper right corner of the album.  Furthermore, it is written on a green sticker wrapping around the spine, and in the S in one of the "BEATLES" areas of the front cover.  There is also some pen writing near the upper left corner in the white areas of the text, but is not all that noticeable due to the multicolor-in-white-text appearance of the cover anyway and should be pretty visible in the picture.  There is some fine scratching across the cover and a bit of spotty ringwear, not in an overtly circular pattern though as well, and very hidden beneath the dark background.  A bit of wrinkling/creasing near the upper seam and a few random drops of liquid that can be properly cleaned off, but this is overall still very nice for its age, historical significance, and rarity.  The back cover is also showing wear in a random spotty pattern, not really identifiable as circular ringwear and due to the age and white background looks worse than the front cover, but certainly not below at what I would call VG.

Vinyl visual grade: G (at best)
The vinyl appears extremely rough and likely did not have a sleeve around it for far too long through the years.  Unfortunate, but it does happen that way sometimes.  There is a plethora of fine and light scratching on both sides and some medium marks and scuffs too.  I can not in good conscience give this a grade better than "Good" visually and it may even be below that.  While I believe it will play, it will not sound pretty and I am not looking forward to an audio grade, as it will make me sad to see such a fine piece of history in such beat condition.  The labels on both sides actually look pretty good, and there is the 679 sticker across side 1 visible in the additional picture.  The center hole does not appear to have been used frequently, but the playable portions have not been treated well.  Regardless, it is what it is and the audio grade will be provided shortly. 

Vinyl audio grade: G / VG- (at best on a few tracks)
Sounding very used, this is not what I would describe as comfortable listening.  The album did play fully and continuously with no skips or hangs on 1 gram on the Numark counterweight.  The vinyl also had a slight misshapen outer portion, visible on rotation but not serious enough to alter continuity of play on any tracks from my audio grade.  Despite the fact that it played fully throughout, it did not sound even remotely clean, and some of the vocals have definitely been affected by the wear.  However, this is an original and a nice item to have with a cover that is in surprisingly good shape.  The "louder" tracks may sound better than "good" as more of the audible wear is overpowered by tracks such as "She Loves You" but still not above VG- at best.  The outer tracks have quite uncomfortable wear, which fades a little as the album progresses on each side.  The second side sounded better than the first and closer to VG- as a whole when averaged but still a bit short of it, although there were also less soft passage songs on the second side.  As a whole, I was not expecting this to sound as good as it did based on the look of it, but older thicker vinyl can often take a beating (unfortunately) through the years yet stand up better over time (in my experience) than thinner pressings from the 1980s and later reissues.

GRADING :

As this is a Beatles themed week for me, I am listing a dozen or so of some of the rarer Beatles items I have.  Being very collectible Beatles albums, it is important for the buyer to know I grade pretty conservatively.  I will provide additional pictures upon request, and likely post them in the auction.  I only use the following grades in GOLDMINE record grading standards:  Mint (must be sealed and perfect), Near Mint (NM), VG+, VG, VG-, Good, and Poor as opposed to the large variety of VG++++++++ and SUPERVG+ and all the other ridiculous grading you see on ebay. However, I am pretty detailed in descriptions and will be providing an audio grade for each of these as well.  If there are any other questions on my grading please ask.


SHIPPING
I will ship anywhere at the world at buyer expense, and get a quote for a particular location within 2 business days of being asked.  I have shipping shown with USPS media mail, but that is only because it is the cheapest option.  I will ship any (reasonable) service but will not use FED EX due to my hatred of them.  That aside, I would recommend USPS priority mail in my experience for both shipping cost and reliability.  I will be using signature required delivery on all of these Beatles items this week, so be prepared for that.

RETURNS/REFUND POLICY:

AS THESE ARE BEATLES, I WILL ACCEPT RETURNS UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES:

YOU HAVE 7 DAYS TO CONTACT ME FROM WHEN THE ITEM IS DELIVERED, AND YOU MUST CONTACT ME BEFORE SHIPPING THE ITEM.  FAILURE TO CONTACT ME PRIOR TO RETURNING WILL COMPLICATE THE REFUND AS I WOULD NEED TO GIVE YOU AN ALTERNATE ADDRESS TO PROPERLY RECEIVE THE ITEM.  IT COULD END UP THAT FAILURE TO CONTACT ME BEFORE SHIPPING WOULD VOID THE REFUND AS I MAY NOT GET THE ITEM BACK.  BUYER PAYS RETURN SHIPPING, AND I WILL REFUND ITEM COST AFTER RECEIVING IT.  AS I AM CONFIDENT IN MY GRADING, IF I FIND I HAVE MADE A GROSS ERROR IN JUDGMENT IN THE ITEM DESCRIPTION, I WILL ALSO REFUND THE SHIPPING COST BACK TO THE BUYER.


ABOUT THE SELLER

I am a former record store owner who closed up shop and has been transitioning to an online only set up.  I also work a full time job in a shipping department, so you can bid with confidence as I have much experience in both dealing records and properly packing and shipping boxes of stuff.